Thanasan Maiseaumsook. A study of the properties of scrap dust rubber filled polypropylene. Master's Degree(Polymer Science). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 1997.
A study of the properties of scrap dust rubber filled polypropylene
Abstract:
This study involved an investigation of the effects of rubber scrap dust characteristics and mixing parameters on the mechanical and rheological properties when blended with polypropylene (PP). The scrap dusts were produced during sports shoe soles manufacture: outsole dust (vulcanised rubber blend of NR, BR and SBR), midsole dust (vulcanised EVA foam), and laminate dust (a mixture of the midsole and outsole dusts after sole assembly). Two different waxes were used in the PP/scrap dust rubber compound. Two different processes, extrusion and injection moulding, were used to study the influence of the blends on the properties. The extrusion process used an extruder connected with a self-driven cavity transfer mixer (SD-CTM). The type and percent loading of scrap dust have been studied for their effect on the quality of mixing and properties of the resultant polymer compounds. The mechanical properties of PP filled with scrap dust were evaluated using Charpy notched impact testing, tensile testing and heat distortion temperature testing. The rheological property studied was the melt flow index (MFI). The blend microstructure was examined utilising optical and polarising microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used for determining the crystallisation characteristics of PP in the blends. The waxes gave significant improvement in the shaping of the extrudate. The outsole scrap dust/PP compounds could not be extruded into a controlled profile shape in this study. The impact strength of the compounds were higher than the virgin PP. From the extrusion process the impact strength did not increase significantly. The impact strength of the injection moulded samples, when compared to the extruded samples, was higher. The tensile properties (yield stress and modulus) were dependent on the amount of scrap dust addition. An increase in the scrap dust loading gave lower yield stress and modulus values. The effect of reprocessing (injection moulding after extrusion) gave a more homogeneous mixture as indicated by the particle size and particle size distribution and also affected the rheological properties as reflected in the higher MFI values. Both DSC and polarising microscopy studies indicated that all three scrap dusts promoted nucleation of PP.